Making Mind-Builders: Aniya L.

From Student to Role Model: Aniya's Journey Through Dance

Seventeen-year-old Aniya L., a Pelham Parkway native, has spent the past four years training in every style of dance offered at Mind-Builders training in every style of dance the center offers. For the past three, she’s been a proud Dance Merit Scholarship recipient, a title that means more to her than free classes. 
 

When I found out I got accepted, I was excited to have an obligation and excited to experience dance in a way I have never experienced before.

That new experience included performing with the Pre-Professional Dance Ensemble and learning from guest choreographers. But the biggest discovery wasn't about technique at all. It was about connection. "You can't dance with people you are unfamiliar with, you have to become comfortable with each other," Aniya explains. "The talks we have and the laughs we share even aside from being on stage is something I can't replace." 

Being a Merit Scholar pushed Aniya beyond the studio. It helped her realize "I have to want to improve outside of the studio, like becoming a better version of myself." That drive came from watching the people around her. "I've grown because I didn't want to feel left behind. Everybody does so good, and even though they complain they keep going. I need to keep going too." 

This past summer, Aniya took her biggest leap yet. After two years as a Teaching Assistant, she became the lead tap teacher for Dance Camp. When her Dance Director asked if she could choreograph and teach her own piece, doubt crept in. "I was a little scared," she admits. But her mentors, Ms. Mel, Ms. Darlene, and Ms. Esther, the teachers who have watched her grow and fight to become who she is today, guided her through it. The result? Her creation of a 4-minute dance her students performed beautifully.  

 

I see myself in them. I love seeing them be loved.

Her students taught her just as much. "I see myself in them. I love seeing them be loved. I love seeing them improve throughout the weeks." She keeps them excited by making jokes, playing music they like, and having real conversations. "They love talking and they love laughing and I love making jokes so it's a perfect mixture."  

That connection runs both ways. "They've truly inspired me to keep going and to never change myself for anybody because if nobody loves me I know my students do." 

Through teaching, she discovered what her mentors had been showing her all along: what it truly means to invest in someone's growth. "I love knowing I'm an actual role model because I'm a good person." 

 

I want to be the voice for the children who are scared to use their own.

Looking ahead, Aniya hopes to graduate high school strong this year, learn to drive, and explore new hobbies like reading. Long-term, she wants to become a social worker. "I want to be the voice for the children who are scared to use their own." 

To Aniya, dance is about more than movement. It's about family, support, and becoming someone others can look up to. Values she now instills in her students. 

Your support makes stories like Aniya's possible. Every donation helps us provide the programs, mentorship, and community that transform young people into artists, leaders, and changemakers. Donate today and help us continue building futures through the arts.